“I did want to dance with you,” he insisted.
“It is what you promised,” she reminded him.
“It was not because I promised either. I wanted to dance with you.”
She lost all humor and stared at him.
What if she could never think of him as more than her brother’s friend, her friend?
His heart sank.
“What do you mean?” she asked, her jade eyes staring into his.
Percy gulped. “It is just that…well…I find that…” Bloody hell. What was wrong with him?
“What do you find?” Deborah asked with a touch of encouragement in her tone.
“That I may have developed a liking for you more than I had previously.”
She started to smile but it quickly disappeared. He hoped that she hadn’t been about to laugh at him.
Yet, even if that were the case, he was going to proceed even if she avoided him from this day out. Except, Deborah couldn’t avoid anyone, or get away, while her ankle was still healing.
“I find myself attracted to you. You are quite beautiful, enjoyable to spend time with, and yes, I do like you very much. If I am to be honest, I was rather surprised, and that was why I wanted to dance with you. A waltz to be specific. I had wanted to hold you and waltz through the ballroom in hopes of determining if my emotions were that of a man who should be asking permission to court you, or if it is merely a deep friendship that we share.”
Bloody hell! He had said far more than he originally intended, but at least it had been said and now Deborah could either accept him or reject him.
Three
Deborah’s heart soared, then pounded fiercely against her breast.
Oh, she hoped that she had heard him correctly and not heard what she had wanted him to say.
“The only reason I made you promise to dance with me was because I had wanted to dance with you and assumed you would never ask me on your own,” she confessed. “That way, I would have had at least one dance because, I too, find that I like you, Percy.” She leaned forward. “But do not tell my brother because I am quite certain that Peter will not approve.”
“Why would he not. He is my friend.”
She nearly smiled at the ridiculous question. Well, at least the answer was obvious to her. “Would you allow any of your friends to court your sisters?” She knew Percy and Peter shared a certain reputation that she should know nothing about or even understand. Besides hearing gossip, she also read quite extensively and nobody had ever bothered to monitor which books she chose, which had provided an excellent education on matters of which innocent misses were sheltered.
Percy chuckled and shook his head because he knew that she was correct in her assessment.
Her knowledge also filled her with jealousy, knowing that Percy was enjoying intimacies with strange women, especially when he and Peter went off to Edinburgh.
Oh, she would be truly crushed if he did so again this summer because it would mean that he had decided that she was to be a friend instead of courted.
“I am still not certain if this is just a deeper friendship or more,” he confessed.
“Nor am I,” she admitted, which was more of a lie, but until she knew his heart, she would not fully confess hers. “But I would like to find out.”
“As would I.”
“If nothing grows from this friendship and liking, then we will not speak of it again,” Deborah announced while secretly hoping that they became far more than simply friends.
Days turned into weeks and then a month with Percy spending every afternoon in her company. Sometimes her family was present and at other times they were not. They spoke freely on many topics and each day, she fell a little further in love and hoped that he did as well, yet he never gave any indication that his emotions had changed. For all she knew, he remained uncertain, much to her disappointment.
While it was frustrating to be stuck on the chaise for so long, and not allowed to move about, it also brought Percy to her side. There had even been cause for him to be the one to carry her inside from the terrace when Peter had not been about. She had cherished these moments of being in his arms, no matter the reason, or the deepening frown of her mother. Unfortunately, that was the only attempt he had ever made to touch her person, and that had only been out of necessity and certainly not desire. Still, she enjoyed the strength of his arms as he supported her nonetheless.
This was also the first summer that she could recall her mother not visiting Abigail, Deborah’s older sister, who lived only a few hours away. Her mother had never been concerned about who of Peter’s friends were visiting and would always take a few days each month to visit Abigail, except for now. Instead, she watched from inside and at other times, would appear and encourage Percy to find Peter, or go riding, or nearly anything to send him away from Deborah.
